The Bible vs. Biodiversity
The Case against Moral Argument from Scripture
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v3i2.213Keywords:
Bible, bioresponsibilityAbstract
This article challenges the view of many ecotheologians and environmentalist Christians that the Bible makes a clear and compelling case for ecological responsibility. It asserts that the lack of biblical concern for the protection of biological diversity is especially clear. The ecological reformation of Christianity will not, therefore, be realized in appeals to scriptural warrants. Instead, it must depend on two things: first, a re visioning in the light of the environmental sciences of the central affirmations of faith, namely, discerning the ecological potential in such doctrines as creation, incarnation, covenant, redemption, sacramental presence, sin; and second, expanded ethical explorations of the meaning of Christian love. A Christian ecological ethics embracing the idea that all species have intrinsic value will naturally flow from an extension of love to all of its horizons, in accord with Christian experiences of and testimonies to the unbounded love of God.
References
Alter, R. 2004. The Five Books of Moses (New York: W.W. Norton).
Birch, B.C., and L. Rasumssen. 1989. Bible and Ethics in the Christian Life (Minneapolis: Augsburg, rev. edn).
Cauthen, W.K. 1996a. ‘Hermeneutics: A Playful but Serious Contention’, Faith and Order, Rhode Island Council of Churches, September 30, 1996.
________. 1996b. Toward a New Modernism (Lanham, MD: University Press of America).
Cosgrove, C.H. 2002. Appealing to Scripture in Moral Debate: Five Hermeneutical Rules (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
Crossan, J.D. 1992. The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (San Francisco: Harper).
Finkelstein, I., and N.A. Silberman. 2001. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (New York: Free Press).
Freedman, D.N., et al. (eds.). 1992. The Anchor Bible Dictionary (6 vols.; New York: Doubleday).
Fretheim, T.E. 2000. ‘The Earth Story in Jeremiah 12’, in Habel 2000: 96-110.
Habel, N.C. (ed.). 2000. The Earth Bible. I. Readings from the Perspective of Earth (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press).
Hays, R.B. 1996. The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics (San Francisco: Harper).
Hessel, D.T., and R.R. Reuther (eds.). 2000. Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
Hiebert, T. 1996. ‘Re-Imagining Nature: Shifts in Biblical Interpretation’, Interpretation 50: 36-46.
________. 1993. ‘Nature and Ecology’, in B.M. Metzger and M.D. Coogan (eds.), The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York: Oxford): 549-51.
________. 2000. ‘The Human Vocation: Origins and Transformation in Christian Traditions’, in Hessel and Reuther 2000: 135-54.
Hinman, L.M. 1998. Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory (New York: Harcourt Brace, 2nd edn).
Keller, C. 2000. ‘No More Sea: The Lost Chaos of the Eschaton’, in Hessel and Reuther 2000: 183-98.
Long, E.L., Jr. 1982. A Survey of Recent Christian Ethics (New York: Oxford).
Maguire, D.C., and A.N. Fargnoli. 1991. On Moral Grounds: The Art/Science of Ethics (New York: Crossroad).
Meeks, W.A. 1993. Origins of Christian Morality: The First Two Centuries (New Haven: Yale University Press).
Nash, J.A. 1991. Loving Nature: Ecological Integrity and Christian Responsibility (Nashville: Abingdon Press).
________. 1993. ‘Biotic Rights and Human Ecological Responsibilities’, in The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics (Georgetown: Georgetown University Press): 137-62.
________. 2000. ‘Seeking Moral Norms in Nature: Natural Law and Ecological Responsibility’, in Hessel and Reuther 2000: 227-51.
Newsom, C.A. 2000. ‘Common Ground: An Ecological Reading of Genesis 2-3’, in N.C. Habel and S. Wurst (eds.), The Earth Bible. II. The Earth Story in Genesis (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press): 60-72.
Ogletree, T.W. 1984. The Use of the Bible in Christian Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell).
Robinson, J.M. 2005. The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of the Original Good News (San Francisco: Harper).
Rossing, B.R. 2000. ‘River of Life in God’s New Jerusalem: An Eschatological Vision for Earth’s Future’, in Hessel and Reuther 2000: 207-23.
Schwartz, E. 1997. ‘Bal tashchit: A Jewish Environmental Precept’, Environmental Ethics 19: 355-74.
Scroggs, R. 1998. ‘The Bible as Foundational Document’, in P.T. Jersild and D.A. Johnson (eds.), Moral Issues and Christian Responses (New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 6th edn).
Sleeper, C.F. 1992. The Bible and the Moral Life (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press).
Temple, W. 1934. Nature, Man, and God (London: MacMillan).
Tucker, G.M. 1997. ‘Rain on Land Where No One Lives: The Hebrew Bible on the Environment’, Journal of Biblical Literature 116: 3-17. doi:10.2307/3266743.
United Methodist Church. 2004. The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 2004 (Nashville: United Methodist Publishing House).
Verhey, A. 1996. ‘Scripture and Ethics: Practices, Performances, and Prescriptions’, in L.S. Cahill and J.F. Childress (eds.), Christian Ethics: Problems and Prospects (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press): 18-44.
Walton, D.N. 1989. Informal Logic: A Handbook for Critical Argumentation (New York: Cambridge University Press).
Westermann, C. 1984. Genesis 1–11: A Commentary (trans. J.J. Scullion, SJ; Minneapolis: Augsburg).
Williams, D.D. 1968. The Spirit and the Forms of Love (New York: Harper & Row).
Wilson, E.O. 1992. The Diversity of Life (New York: W.W. Norton).
________. 2006. The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth (New York: W.W. Norton).
Birch, B.C., and L. Rasumssen. 1989. Bible and Ethics in the Christian Life (Minneapolis: Augsburg, rev. edn).
Cauthen, W.K. 1996a. ‘Hermeneutics: A Playful but Serious Contention’, Faith and Order, Rhode Island Council of Churches, September 30, 1996.
________. 1996b. Toward a New Modernism (Lanham, MD: University Press of America).
Cosgrove, C.H. 2002. Appealing to Scripture in Moral Debate: Five Hermeneutical Rules (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
Crossan, J.D. 1992. The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (San Francisco: Harper).
Finkelstein, I., and N.A. Silberman. 2001. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (New York: Free Press).
Freedman, D.N., et al. (eds.). 1992. The Anchor Bible Dictionary (6 vols.; New York: Doubleday).
Fretheim, T.E. 2000. ‘The Earth Story in Jeremiah 12’, in Habel 2000: 96-110.
Habel, N.C. (ed.). 2000. The Earth Bible. I. Readings from the Perspective of Earth (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press).
Hays, R.B. 1996. The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics (San Francisco: Harper).
Hessel, D.T., and R.R. Reuther (eds.). 2000. Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
Hiebert, T. 1996. ‘Re-Imagining Nature: Shifts in Biblical Interpretation’, Interpretation 50: 36-46.
________. 1993. ‘Nature and Ecology’, in B.M. Metzger and M.D. Coogan (eds.), The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York: Oxford): 549-51.
________. 2000. ‘The Human Vocation: Origins and Transformation in Christian Traditions’, in Hessel and Reuther 2000: 135-54.
Hinman, L.M. 1998. Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory (New York: Harcourt Brace, 2nd edn).
Keller, C. 2000. ‘No More Sea: The Lost Chaos of the Eschaton’, in Hessel and Reuther 2000: 183-98.
Long, E.L., Jr. 1982. A Survey of Recent Christian Ethics (New York: Oxford).
Maguire, D.C., and A.N. Fargnoli. 1991. On Moral Grounds: The Art/Science of Ethics (New York: Crossroad).
Meeks, W.A. 1993. Origins of Christian Morality: The First Two Centuries (New Haven: Yale University Press).
Nash, J.A. 1991. Loving Nature: Ecological Integrity and Christian Responsibility (Nashville: Abingdon Press).
________. 1993. ‘Biotic Rights and Human Ecological Responsibilities’, in The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics (Georgetown: Georgetown University Press): 137-62.
________. 2000. ‘Seeking Moral Norms in Nature: Natural Law and Ecological Responsibility’, in Hessel and Reuther 2000: 227-51.
Newsom, C.A. 2000. ‘Common Ground: An Ecological Reading of Genesis 2-3’, in N.C. Habel and S. Wurst (eds.), The Earth Bible. II. The Earth Story in Genesis (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press): 60-72.
Ogletree, T.W. 1984. The Use of the Bible in Christian Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell).
Robinson, J.M. 2005. The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of the Original Good News (San Francisco: Harper).
Rossing, B.R. 2000. ‘River of Life in God’s New Jerusalem: An Eschatological Vision for Earth’s Future’, in Hessel and Reuther 2000: 207-23.
Schwartz, E. 1997. ‘Bal tashchit: A Jewish Environmental Precept’, Environmental Ethics 19: 355-74.
Scroggs, R. 1998. ‘The Bible as Foundational Document’, in P.T. Jersild and D.A. Johnson (eds.), Moral Issues and Christian Responses (New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 6th edn).
Sleeper, C.F. 1992. The Bible and the Moral Life (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press).
Temple, W. 1934. Nature, Man, and God (London: MacMillan).
Tucker, G.M. 1997. ‘Rain on Land Where No One Lives: The Hebrew Bible on the Environment’, Journal of Biblical Literature 116: 3-17. doi:10.2307/3266743.
United Methodist Church. 2004. The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 2004 (Nashville: United Methodist Publishing House).
Verhey, A. 1996. ‘Scripture and Ethics: Practices, Performances, and Prescriptions’, in L.S. Cahill and J.F. Childress (eds.), Christian Ethics: Problems and Prospects (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press): 18-44.
Walton, D.N. 1989. Informal Logic: A Handbook for Critical Argumentation (New York: Cambridge University Press).
Westermann, C. 1984. Genesis 1–11: A Commentary (trans. J.J. Scullion, SJ; Minneapolis: Augsburg).
Williams, D.D. 1968. The Spirit and the Forms of Love (New York: Harper & Row).
Wilson, E.O. 1992. The Diversity of Life (New York: W.W. Norton).
________. 2006. The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth (New York: W.W. Norton).
Published
2009-07-22
Issue
Section
CLOSED - Special Issue: Christianity, Nature, Scripture and Ethics
How to Cite
Nash, J. A. (2009). The Bible vs. Biodiversity: The Case against Moral Argument from Scripture. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 3(2), 213-237. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v3i2.213
